Page 67 of This Thing of Ours

Her heart did a little flip, and good mood restored, she waved at him. “Back up or you’ll feel the wrath of my mighty swing.”

Chuckling, he got out of her way. She swung and swung. Then tapped and tapped. Until she finally made… a hole-in-seven.

Gabby turned whenshe felt a hand on her elbow. She’d been so engrossed in the view of Marco’s retreating figure—he’d left to get her a new ball as she’d finally managed to land hers in the lake—that she hadn’t sensed anyone come up behind her. A stupid mistake that could’ve had a costlier outcome. As it was, it was just the girls’ dad. Speaking of which, she glanced over his shoulder but didn’t see them around.

Noticing he said, “They popped off to the restroom. They can’t do anything alone, those two. Been best friends for years.” When Gabby didn’t comment, he continued. “I’m Hank, by the way.” He held out his hand. “Thought I’d introduce myself.” He gave a hesitant chuckle. “After all this time, I feel as though we're old friends.”

Gabby raised a brow. All this time? They’d been following them for three holes. Granted, it took Gabby forever to finish a hole, but still.

His hand was still out, so as not to be rude, she gave it a brief shake before pulling away. She also took a step back to dislodge his hand from her arm.

He ran the hand through his hair, which she did notice was thick and a nice shade of brown. In fact, he was a good-looking guy, she just wasn’t interested.

“So, anyway, um… sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

Because she hadn’t given it. Wanting the conversation over before Marco got back, she supplied, “Gabby.”

“Right. Gabby. Pretty name, by the way.” He raised a hand as if he were about to touch her again, thought better of it, and returned his arm to his side.

Hank was either nervous about something, or he was just naturally fidgety. Again, not to be rude, she mumbled, “Thank you.”

“Anyway, as I was saying…” he gave a small laugh. “I don’t usually do this, but that guy you’re with, is it serious?”

Gabby opened her mouth, but no words came out. She’d had a few guys from school ask her out, but she’d never had a complete stranger actually hit on her before.

He filled her stunned silence. “You see, I knew if I didn’t ask, I’d go home and wonder if I’d missed my chance. Then I’d regret not asking. Ever since my divorce, I try not to do things I’d regret.”

“You’re going to regret this very much if you don’t step the fuck back and get away from my girl.”

Gabby jumped. She hadn’t heard Marco come up behind her, and either Hank hadn’t either, or he simply didn’t care. Which wasn’t very smart on his part if it was the latter.

The guywassmart enough to hold his hands out in a peaceful gesture. “I meant no disrespect.”

Marco stepped around Gabby, placing her behind him. “Oh, but I think you did.”

Gabby grabbed the back of Marco’s jacket and tugged, trying to get his attention. Big surprise, that didn’t work.

Gabby couldn’t see, but she heard Hank reply. “Really, man, I was just getting the lay of the land. If Gabby had told me she was taken, I would’ve backed off.”

She felt Marco stiffen, and his tone was pretty damn intimidating when he said, “Are you saying she didn’t tell you she was taken?”

Gabby rolled her eyes and tugged on the back of Marco’s jacket again, which heagainignored, so she instead tried to step around him, but he reached his arm back, stopping her.

“Well, no. I mean, yes. What I mean is, we hadn’t really gotten that far into the conversation.”

She heard caution in Hank’s voice. Seemed he finally realized he was dealing with a crazy person.

She spied the girls heading their direction and knew she needed to shut things down fast. “I’m leaving,” she said to Marco’s back. “Either you’re coming with me now, or not. If not, I’m calling a cab and goinghomehome. If so, I’ll get in your car and go home with you. Your call.”

And on that note, without giving Marco time to answer or react, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Chapter Twenty-Four

It didn’t takelong for Marco’s long strides to catch up with Gabriella. He grabbed her arm, yanking her to a stop and used her momentum to spin her around to face him. Her lips parted in surprise, and he took advantage, claiming her mouth. Deepening the kiss, he swept his tongue inside, uncaring they were standing in the middle of a crowded amusement center.

She resisted at first, her hands pushing against his chest for all of a few seconds before changing her mind, clutching at his jacket and urging him closer.

He obliged, his hands greedily diving into her hair and fisting it in a tight grip, tipping her head at just the right angle to devour her mouth. Eyes closed, he breathed in her scent and relished the taste of her.

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